Behavioural Insights Projects
Discover projects applying behavioural science to policy from around the world. Add your own projects, whether completed or still ongoing, to contribute knowledge on BI applications across different countries, policy areas, and topics of interest.

Number of BI projects:
0
Legend: Projects status
- Pre-registered project
- Completed project
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In a randomised trial we sent reminder letters to self-employed entrepreneurs about their upcoming VAT filing date. Previously it was not common practice for the Hungarian tax administration to send large scale reminders before the due date.
This study aims to:
1) Use a Discrete Choice Experiment (or DCE) to explore and estimate Canadians’ preferences for different attributes of a potential ZEV purchase or lease.
2) Use an online RCT to explore the impact of varying messengers (government vs. personal testimonial) and varying messages (about driving range vs. affordability) on individuals' intent to switch to a ZEV
3) Explore Canadians’ knowledge of ZEVs
4) Generate baseline evidence other elements of decarbonized transport not…
BI Project
Give Your Car (and Wallet) a Break: Enabling more Sustainable Commutes in Pristina, Kosovo
Air pollution is a serious health and environmental problem in many cities, including Pristina, Kosovo, where poor air quality is a frequent issue. Private cars and taxis are a major mode of transportation in Pristina, contributing significantly to both pollution and congestion, which is most problematic at peak traffic hours when individuals commute to and from work. To tackle this issue, ideas42 partnered with the UNDP Kosovo to design a behavioral intervention with the unifying slogan, "Give…
We all know that if a 13-year-old has his mind set on
something, it is quite difficult to try to change it. This
is exactly the type of challenge that the Ministry of
Education in Peru is approaching with students in
public schools and high schools, targeting those from
low-income households in particular.
Teenagers often have pre-conceived ideas about their
own intelligence, which influences how they react to
academic challenges. If a student thinks he is not smart
enough, he believes there is…
To promote college access and affordability, education tax credits help with the cost of college by reducing the amount of tax owed. The most generous Federal higher education tax credit, the American opportunity tax credit (AOTC), is a maximum annual credit of $2,500 per eligible student. Yet, many eligible students (or their families) do not claim the credit. Among eligible students, national estimates indicate that 46 percent of independent students and 56 percent of dependent students take…
BI Project
Comparing the impact of positive, negative, and graded sustainability labels on purchase decisions
An online experiment with EU consumers was run to assess the relative effectiveness of three sustainability labelling approaches: (1) positive labels - only identifying products with the best sustainability performance, (2) negative labels - only identifying products with the worst sustainability performance, and (3) graded labels - conveying the relative sustainability of all products. Results suggest that graded labels are the most effective to steer consumer toward more sustainable purchase…
BI Project
Helping social assistance recipients in finding work: Does a different approach lead to more people…
In a series of field experiments, six municipalities investigated whether a different approach in social assistance could get more people into work. The study focused on the effects of an exemption from the obligation to seek work, more intensive counselling or higher earnings disregards for additional income. A different approach can increase the number of people finding jobs. More research is needed.
Why the experiments were conducted: increasing the effectiveness of the Participation…
BI Project
Micro-SMEs ‘green’ their business: how to increase the likelihood of micro-SMEs applying…
An online experiment investigated how behavioural techniques could be used to increase the likelihood of companies with 2 to 10 employees applying for assistance under the Subsidy Scheme Improving Sustainability of SMEs (SVM ). The results show that an updated version of the website helps to clarify the subsidy. This effect is not reflected in the likelihood of these micro-SMEs actually applying for the subsidy.
Why this experiment was conducted: SVM scheme not being fully utilised
It is…
BI Project
Combining Incentives with Narratives: Online-Field Experiment with Tesco to Reduce Plastic Bag Use
The pervasive use of single-use plastic bags presents a growing environmental challenge globally. Despite legislative efforts, such as the mandatory 5p bag-charge introduced in England in October 2015, the problem persists. The issue took on renewed urgency in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen a regression in consumer habits towards increased use of single-use plastics, driven by health and safety concerns (Adyel, 2020).
While traditional economic theory suggests that incentives…
To support building the pipeline of skilled workers in Ontario, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) introduced the Skilled Trades Strategy (STS) in 2020 which aims to modernize the skilled trades and apprenticeship system by breaking the stigma and attracting more young people to the skilled trades, simplifying the system, and encouraging employer participation. In collaboration with MLITSD, the Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) plans to run a…